Savatage Unites To Headline ProgPower V

Current and former members of Savatage will unite for one night only to headline ProgPower V this September in Atlanta.

The festival, which will be held September 17 and 18 at Earthlink Live, will feature Jon Oliva, Zak Stevens, Chris Caffery, and Steve "Dr. Kill Drums" Wacholz performing a set from Savatage's entire discography in an exclusive performance. In addition to the full set, fans can expect a sneak preview of Jon Oliva's "Tage Mahal."

"I'm really excited about this show," said Stevens. "The last time I did a full show with these guys was at the PopComm Festival in Germany 1999. I've been waiting for the right time for us to get together. That time has come and where better than the ProgPower festival?"

Added Jon Oliva: "We've been talking with Zak about doing a special show ever since he left Savatage, but it's really hard to get every one's schedules together for a rare event like this. It was nearly impossible this time around and it probably won't ever happen again, so we'll make this one special! We plan on playing several songs we rarely ever performed live...this should be good!"

Germany's Edguy will return to Atlanta after an overwhelming response at 2002's ProgPower III. "ProgPower was our first big step in the USA as a band," said Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet. "Glenn (the promoter) had the balls to take the risk and build something over there to support the music we all love so much but was claimed DEAD in the USA not long ago. Well, for 'dead' people, all the lovely fans there down in front of the stage looked pretty good."

ProgPower II veterans Kamelot will also make a return appearance at the festival. "We are very pleased to be returning for ProgPower V," said Thomas Youngblood. "ProgPower is the highest class of the US festivals and gives many metal fans a chance to see the bands that do not get to tour the US. We are planning to play songs from our previous albums, as well as some new ones from the upcoming album that we are currently in production with. And there are always some nice surprises with our live shows.â€

Progressive metal icons Pain of Salvation will perform an exclusive set for ProgPower USA this year. The set list will be picked entirely by the fans via online voting. Details will be announced via the festival website in the coming weeks.

In ProgPower tradition, several European bands will make North American debuts - Denmark's Wuthering Heights, Germany's Dreamscape, and France's Adagio with Germany's Brainstorm, Sweden's Tad Morose, and Canada's Into Eternity rounding out the lineup.

Tickets will go on sale May 1 via all Ticketmaster outlets. Only 900 tickets will be made available to the public once again. Gold Badges (special patron tickets) are already sold-out. Tickets for the 1,500-seat venue have sold out within two weeks for the past two shows.

"People keep asking me why I don't move to a bigger venue since the show sells out every year," said promoter Glenn Harveston. "Well, the success of ProgPower USA is not based only on the roster and tickets sold, but the intimacy and atmosphere that I am able to create. It's what makes this show unique here in the States."